Our Caridad del Cibre and a People of Faith.
When I found this old photo, full of children and excited faces next to the image of Cachita, I knew it wasn’t just a memory; it was living proof that we are, without a doubt, a people of immense faith.
My great-grandparents, Evangelio Ortíz and Pura Concepción Román, were born in the early years of the so-called Republic. My great-grandfather, separated but still without the legal protection of divorce, met the woman who would become the love of his life: Moña, as my great-grandmother was affectionately known.
From that union, more than six children were born, although only two survived childhood. My devout grandmother always believed that the difficulties in her family were a consequence of her mother being married to a legally married man. Thus, she fervently entrusted herself to the Virgin of Charity of Cobre. My great-grandfather, aware of this devotion, brought an image of the Virgin from Santiago de Cuba in 1938. Since then, the small figure has become a symbol of hope and spiritual guidance in our family.
In the 1940s, my great-grandparents were finally able to get married at the foot of that statue, and from then on, all the neighborhood festivities—on Santa Isabel Street—were held before it. I grew up surrounded by those memories, playing with the Virgin’s old gowns while my great-grandmother, now a centenarian, told me stories and hummed sweetly: And if you go to Cobre, I want you to bring me a Virgin of Charity…
However, years later, we found her again, forgotten in a room: without her hair, with the glass case broken, and neglect weighing on her. It was then that she returned to the warmth of her family, welcomed by my Catholic godparents, and began to visit the neighboring houses again during the novena before September 7th.
It’s likely that the faith we inherited is also what sustains our memories. That’s why, when I found this old photo, full of children and excited faces next to the image of Cachita, I knew it wasn’t just a memory; it was living proof that we are, without a doubt, a people of immense faith.
Written by Yunielys Moliner Isasi.
Enviar com
